When Moshiach comes.....

When Moshiach comes, the primary branch of Torah study will be the mystical dimension, which deals with knowledge of G-d's attributes and qualities.
And so if this is the case then how will we know how to observe the practical mitzvot?

Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi explains that in the future there will be no lapses of memory. Once we learn something, it will be imprinted in our memory forever. Memory loss is a manifestation of impurity, which will evaporate when Moshiach comes. Furthermore, any memories that we might have lost before Moshiach comes will be restored to us. Therefore, we won't need to dedicate as much time to memorizing the details of the Law, and will be able to spend the bulk of our time studying the inner dimensions of Torah.

Additionally, in the Messianic era we will be granted an extra level of understanding and from our study of the Torah's mystical dimensions, we will be able to infer all the practical laws of Jewish observance.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe adds that when Moshiach will come our evil inclination will be removed, and our nature and instincts will be transformed. Just a a young child instinctively draws his hand away from fire, we will have a natural aversion to those things forbidden by the Torah, and a natural inclination to do the things the Torah requires.

BITACHON. TRUST IN G-D

In response to a man who was troubled and downcast because of his many debts, the Rebbe wrote that his biggest trouble was his lack of bitachon in G-d, for that is the key to everything. The Rebbe encouraged the man to toil in strengthening his belief that even if there seems to be no way for matters to work out, he should nevertheless trust in G-d - for G-d works above nature, and thus all can be good.

Reb Shaul Ber Kobakov, a successful lumber merchant from the city of Minsk, was one of the followers of the 4th Chabad Rebbe the Rebbe Maharash (and later of the Rebbe Rashab). Once, when on a business trip, as he waited on the railway platform, he heard an announcement that his train would be delayed, so he decided to wash his hands and pray the evening prayer of Aravit. Another Jewish merchant who was also there and knowing that Reb Shaul Ber was not one to rush through his prayers, went over to him and warned him that his train would probably arrive before he finished the amidah prayer.

"That's of no interest to me," replied the Reb Shaul Ber. "Now is the time for Aravit, so now i will pray."

While he stood in a quiet corner and prayed for a full hour, the train came and left. When he finished, he waited for the next train and repeated to the other merchant that when it was time to pray nothing mattered to him, even his business.

Just then the next train clattered to a halt, but before the Reb Shaul Ber climbed on, whom did he see, stepping down from the train? It was none other than the owner of the forests to whom he was about to travel! That man came over and greeted him, explaining that he had waited for him at his station as they had planned, but when Reb Shaul Ber had not shown up, he had decided to travel to see him.
From this Reb Shaul Ber understood that he must be desperate to sell his forests, and was thus able to strike a good bargain

The sin of GOLDEN CALF - So what now?

In the Torah portion of Parshat Ki Tisa we read about the sin of the golden calf.

How was it possible that after all the miracles that the Jews witnessed, like the manna from heaven, the splitting of the sea and having heard the voice of G-d at Sinai, could they create a Golden Calf and turn to idolatry? It seemed that any likelihood of such a thing happening was most certainly out of the question. Nobody would believe that a People so religiously convinced could make such a turn around.
But time and again this is the story of human history, the most unexpected, the unthinkable DOES happen.

And but when that does happen, what should we make of it?
Well, once in the throes of dismal failure and disappointment, we can suddenly realize a new dimension that was impossible before. The Talmud explains the inexplicable about the golden calf that it was to give an opportunity to do Teshuva. G-d allowed this to come to bring awareness for future generations that one should never give up the belief that change and repentance is still possible.

Sometimes great unexpected tragedy occurs (G-d forbid), for it serves as an instrument later in creating within us a drive to do something that would truly change our lives. Somehow we could never have come to this thru normal circumstances.

G-d gives us difficult challenges that at the time make no sense. We search in vain only to realize later that this propelled us to a new level in achieving something we would other wise never do.

As the Rebbe says, "We have the power to transform pain into action and tears into growth".

Tracht Gut Vet Zayn Gut!! Think Good And It Will Be Good!

Once, Reb Michoel Beliner, a spiritual mentor,'s son fell deathly ill. The doctors said that there was nothing they could do. Reb Michoel's followers advised him to immediately travel to the 3rd Chabad Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek. Reb Michoel began to weep, saying that he would strongly like to go, but the doctors said that it was only a matter of hours, how could he now set out on the road? One of the older chassidim berated him. He quoted from the Talmud that one should never despair of being granted G-d's mercy, and added that surely the good angels would succeed in having the Heavenly verdict postponed until he reached the Rebbe. And so Reb Michoel set out on his trip.

Arriving in Lubavitch, Reb Michoel was fortunate to immediately have a private audience with the Rebbe.

R'Michoel later related: "When I entered the Rebbe's room and handed him my personal request for my son, I thought to myself, 'The doctors said it's only a few hours...,Who knows what has in the interim happened with my son? ' and I began to weep. But then the Rebbe read my note and said, 'Don't cry. You must have bitachon in G-d with simple trust that He will save your son. Tracht gut vet zien gut. (Think good and things will be good.) You will yet celebrate the bar-mitzvot of your grandsons!' "The Rebbe said.

Soon after, the bo recovered. And from then on, whenever Reb Michoel experienced difficulty he would bring to mind the luminous face of the Rebbe as he spoke those words, and the situation would actually change for the better.

The Rebbe explains that when a person places his full trust in G-d, feeling fully at ease with complete bitachon, that is enough for him to merit G-d's salvation. This is true even for someone who is seemingly undeserving, for toiling in strengthening his bitachon, that alone gives him the merit to be helped. That is the deeper message of the words of the Tzemach Tzedek, "Tracht gut" - "Think good and things will be good."

G-d exists! Story with barber....

A man went to the barber shop to have his hair cut. As the barber worked, they talked about different thngs. When they eventually touched on the subject of G-d the barber said:"I dont believe that G-d exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.

"Well, if G-d would be real would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If G-d existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving father would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. As he went outside, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy hair, dirty and unkempt.
The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and said to the barber, "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "And I just worked on you!!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair, like the man outside."

Ah but Barbers do exist!! "What happens is, people do not come to me."

"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "Thats the point! G-d too does exist! What happens is people don't go to Him."

G-d is there for us. We just have to go to Him. Pray to Him. Connect with Him. And you will surely see there is a G-d!

Serve G-d with Joy !:)

"Serve G-d with joy!" sings King David the Psalmist.

Joy is central to connecting to G-d. Being happy when you do a mitzvah demonstrates that you like this connection, this tremendous privilege of serving the Infinite Author of All Things. And in fact, the Arizal, a master Kabbalist, once asserted that the gates of wisdom and divine inspiration were opened for him only as a reward for doing mitzvot with boundless joy.

Not just mitzvot, but everything we do—eating, sleeping, business, and even leisure activities—can be part of the way we connect to G-d. All it takes is the right intentions.
"Serve G-d with joy!" applies to all times and situations.

When we're happy, the toughest tasks are a breeze, the strongest adversaries are easily vanquished. On the other hand, if we're down, even simple challenges seem overwhelming.
*Envision being given the opportunity to host your nation's head of state in your humble home. Picture how overjoyed and excited you'd be at the honor. When we do a mitzvah, we cause G-d to dwell with us here in our world—and we get to host Him! Shouldn't this be a cause for joy?
If we Consider how small and insignificant we are by comparison to G-d, and then contemplate on how much He loves and cherishes us -that definitely is a cause for joy.

* We should recognize that all that transpires is part of G-d's plan, and that G-d is in control. And we should understand that no evil could emanate from G-d—for He is entirely good.
* We should feel overjoyed and secure in the knowledge that everything is exactly as it is supposed to be, and Someone is looking out for us.

Let a sense of purpose lend bounce to your step as you go about your daily activities.

Story -All fasted he ate. Generosity saved his daughter.

Deeply worried, Reb Yosephah made his way to the Study Hall of Ostrah. As he walked in, the young men looked up in respect and anticipation, for he was the supporter of many of the young scholars who came to study there.

"My daughter is very ill," he announced solemnly. "Here is an added stipend for each of you. Please fast and pray for her recovery." He handed each student an envelope with money and they promised to fulfill his request.

And so they did. Or rather, so did all of them but one. Rabbi Yitzchak Drohovitcher (who later became a leading kabbalist in his generation), but was then a young man, he spent the money at a local grocery, purchasing a hearty meal for himself. While all the others committed themselves to fast, he sat down to eat.

Soon, word spread that thank g-d the young girl's condition had taken a change for the better and the crisis had passed. Later, when she fully recovered, Reb Yosephah invited everyone to a thanksgiving celebration. At the feast, he reproved Rabbi Yitzchak, "I am surprised at your strange, disrespectful behavior. While all your fellow students were immersed in prayer and fasting, you indulged in a meal."

Rabbi Yitzchak answered quietly: "Fasting is nothing out of the ordinary for me. Quite the contrary, having enough money to purchase a meal is exceptional. Thus, when I sat down to eat, the angels asked: 'Why has Yitzchak been able to purchase a wholesome meal during the week?' Other angels responded, relating that my meal came about because of your generosity.

"Therefore, it was decreed that generosity should be shown to you as well and your daughter be granted a speedy recovery."

Shabbat Shira - Song. Power of Song.

This past shabbat, we read in the Torah the song sung by Israel after the parting of the Red Sea.

What gives song/music its power? How does it have the ability to transport us to another time and place?

The Kabbalah says: The way a soul can move around is through song. Songs have this power because they are the language of the Divine.

When G-d created the universe, He consulted, so to speak, with the angels: “Should I bestow upon the human race the gift of music?” The angels replied with a resounding “no.” “The human race will not appreciate the sublime power of melody. They won’t know how to appreciate angelic, divine nature of song. “Give us your gift of music,” the angels said, “and we will sing Your praises, we will sing Your songs. We will know how to use the power of melody to reach great spiritual heights.”

“No. I will give the gift of music to humans". Decided G-d, "Because I want them to have something to remember Me with.

“Sometimes life will be difficult. Man can feel depressed and hopeless. I therefore want them to have song to remind them, that even you’re stuck in the dire straits of material existence or are experiencing loneliness you can break out in song, which will lift your spirits.

“Yes indeed,” G-d concluded, “I will give the human being the language of music and song, so that he can use it to discover transcendence.”

Song has the ability to transport the soul because the source of its power is its Divine language. Songs have the ability to lift our spirits to unprecedented heights. It is spiritual transportation.

Every creature, every molecule, every atom emits its own unique sound. Every soul pulsates and purrs. .

To access the music within, we need to get in touch with our life’s purpose and recognize that every moment of our day, every activity and every interaction is a spiritual opportunity.

We are now, after the 'Shabbat of Song', imbued with the power to turn our lives into one extended symphony.

High time to start singing.

Russian Soldiers /vodka . Direction of head.

One night, In old-time Russia, in Czar Nikolai's army, a few soldiers decided to secretly climb over the fence to pay a visit to the local inn. At the inn, they thirstily drank their vodka, their much longed for drink.

After a while one of the soldiers cried out: "Hey, we have to hurry up and get back to our base before inspection so that they don't catch us missing!"

The soldiers quickly paid and starting running back to the army camp, but having drunk too much one by one, they fell to the ground, at the side of the road.

It was their bad luck that just then one of the officers passed by and found them lying there drunk.
The next day, of course they were summoned to appear to the commander's office. The soldiers were trembling with fear, knowing they may be severely punished for what they did.
The commander spoke in a harsh voice explaining to them the army laws that they had transgressed.
Suddenly though, he changed his tone. His voice became softer and he said; "I also like to have some vodka from time to time. I understand your reason for escape, i am aware that it has been a long time since you were last allowed to visit the inn. Thus i have decided not to punish you for this act!"
"However", barked the commander pointing to one soldier, "Everybody is exempt from punishment - except you! You will be penalized because when i passed by on the road i noticed that all of the soldiers were lying with their heads in the direction of the army camp - except you. Your head was in the direction of the inn!"

We all have our ups and downs in our service of G-d. It happens that sometimes we may fall. However, what is important is - in what direction our heads are.

The downfalls lose their impact when we keep sight of our direction.

Grab the Jewels - i.e. the Mitzvot - NOW.

There was once a king who, wanting to show his appreciation to his new general for winning the war, offered to allow him to go into his treasury house for an hour and take whatever he wanted for himself.

The general was thrilled. He prepared a large sack and waited anxiously for the day. But then the king regretted his decision. Not wanting to renege on his promise the king's advisers advised the king to place musicians at the treasury house and have them play the most beautiful music. This would distract the general from despoiling the king's treasury.

Sure enough the plan worked. The general became paralyzed and fixated with the music. By the time the general realized that he was losing the chance of a lifetime, the hour of opportunity had passed. He wound up with just a few small items, but lost all that potential for riches because of his distraction with the orchestra.

Rav Eliyahu Lopian said this parable refers to this world. G-d puts us in this world and tells us to "grab the jewels", i.e. – the mitzvot. However, at the same time, G-d gives us distractions of life. We become fixated with these distractions. One day, someone taps us on the shoulder and says, "It is time to leave this world." We look back and bemoan the fact that we have missed our opportunity of mining this world for the spiritual treasures that were available to us. We leave the world empty handed or at best, we leave with our sacks half full.

When the mitzvot are just there for our taking, it is hard to imagine that there will come a time that they will not be there anymore. We need to foresee the future and take the proper implications from that vision.

Everybody has FREE CHOICE! Choose wisely, be good!

No matter who you are, or what your situation is, you can always make the choice to do the right thing. G-d gave you the gift of 100% free choice.

Our sages explain that if we merit, G-d will hasten the redemption for us, but if not then it'll come in its regular time. It's the very actions we do that cause Moshiach to come. G-d carefully constructed a perfect system that the result of any good deed is a better world. The redemption is not a reward, it’s just part of nature, it’s how G-d originally planned the universe.

Therefore, every single act that we do directly impacts the world as a whole either for the better or for the worse. As soon as enough good is done, Moshiach will automatically arrive. G-d created this system and gave us the free choice to use it.

We bring Moshiach. It’s completely in our hands.

It says that G-d heartened Paroh's heart. What does a hardened heart mean? Did Pharaoh no longer have free choice? The truth is that G-d still allowed Pharaoh free choice despite hardening his heart.

The mystics explain that G-d did not alter Pharaoh heart. Pharaoh’s heart became hardened automatically after a lifetime of evil and G-d sent Moses to warn him about the next plague despite his ‘hardened heart’ because everyone has 100% free choice.

Pharaoh, despite everything he had done which had hardened and desensitized his soul, still possessed a spark of good, a sliver of power to turn himself into a good person. There is no such thing as I can’t.

G-d always gives a person the tools he or she needs to do the right thing. No one is ever beyond the power of Teshuva, of returning to G-d and his good ways.

Every good deed we do not only makes our heart a little ‘softer’, more sensitive to spirituality, but automatically brings the entire world one step closer to Moshiach.

We are always in control, and we always have100% free choice. What we do with it is up to us! Let's choose wisely!

The Commandment to Love G-d.

Little Chaim doesn't like fish. Now what if his father were to command him to like fish – would the son be able to overcome his inherent dislike of fish and begin to love it?

It is a basic part of the Shema prayer, “And you shall love G-d with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your might”. How is it possible that G-d has given us a mitzvah, a commandment, to 'love' Him? If we do not have love in our hearts for G-d, how is it possible to change our nature and begin to love G-d?

What is it that makes it possible to command someone to love G-d yet to command someone to love fish may be foolish?

The basic difference is that man can exist without fish. A man is not dependent on fish alone for his life. But man can not exist independent from G-d; man's total existence is dependent on G-d. More than that, nothing exists outside of G-d. While we may appear to have an independent existence, it is only because our senses can not perceive G-d. We are limited beings.

Our every moment existence is totally dependent upon His good will, which He never retracts. Even when man sins against Him, He gives man the ability to continue.

We in fact have an inherent love of G-d hidden in our soul. And so by contemplating on G-d that He is the source of our existence and provider of our physical needs, evokes that hidden love for Him.

The active concept of love of G-d is the contemplation and awareness of His goodness. The more we contemplate on His goodness, the greater will be our awareness of Him. The more we will be aware of Him the more love we will feel for Him in our hearts.

However the more we look at ourselves as a separate entity, the less we can feel any love for G-d. The more we try to see G-d in our lives, the more He will give us the ability to perceive Him in this world.

Basically, The more we contemplate on G-d's goodness, the better.